Movies: Past, present and future

'Lincoln Lawyer' director Brad Furman discusses next project

March 10, 2011 | 8:51pm

[For the record, 12:35 p.m. March 11: On Friday morning, producer Scott Franklin said that, although he did give notes on "Intricate" and introduce Brad Furman to a screenwriter, Protozoa is not currently attached to produce it. Furman was not available to comment further. A spokeswoman for Darren Aronofsky said that the director himself was not attached to produce the film and was not engaging with it. The original headline, "Darren Aronofsky returns to the drug world," has been changed accordingly.]

Darren Aronofsky cemented his auteur status a decade ago with "Requiem for a Dream," a dark story of a murky drug underworld. Now he could be returning to that milieu in a different capacity.

The director of "Black Swan," along with that movie's producer, Scott Franklin, are putting their weight behind "Intricate," a story of a promising young athlete who finds himself caught up in the drug trade in 1990s New York, according to the new film's director.

Brad Furman, who helmed the upcoming legal thriller "The Lincoln Lawyer," will direct "Intricate." Furman said he is developing the independent project with Franklin and Aronofsky — who incubate films at their New York-based company Protozoa Pictures — serving as producers.

"The movie is about where this man begins and where he ends, with New York City as an important character," Furman said. Franklin was not immediately available for comment.

Inspired by a true story, "Intricate" tells of a highly touted college basketball recruit who gets involved in the drug underworld after his hoops career doesn't pan out. At the time, the New York narcotics trade is rife with violence and connections to the burgeoning rap industry.

Although dark dramas remain difficult to finance, Protozoa has a way of getting movies to the screen: Franklin helped secure the money for "Black Swan" after the project fell apart numerous times.